01-12: Strength for The Journey
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Thank you for joining us today for worship! We continue our study of Elijah's journey and how it relates to our own in Christ. In this message, Pastor Tag focuses on where do we look and how do we maintain our strength for the journey.
Resources:
: The Bible Project :: https://www.bibleproject.com
: YouVersion Bible App :: https://www.bible.com
1 Kings 19:1-12
Elijah Flees from Jezebel
[1] Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. [2] Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” [3] And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. [4] But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.” [5] He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat.” [6] Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. [7] The angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.” [8] So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Elijah at Horeb
[9] Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” [10] He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
[11] So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. [12] After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.
Notes:
*Notes are slides used on Sunday morning made available for your personal notes and study.
1. The Man Obadiah In the Life of Elijah: 18:3-4
“Ahab called Obadiah who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly; for when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water.”
2. The Meltdown of Elijah: 19:2-5
“Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow (24 hours) about this time.” And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba (100 miles south), which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested (prayed to die) for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.”
3. The Mettle to Move to Higher Ground: 19:7
“The angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.”
4. The Mountain of God: 19:8
“So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.”
What do we need to do to have “strength for our journey?”
1. Fasting and Praying: 19:8
“So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.”
Fasting is releasing the earthly to reach for the heavenly.
2. Fitted for Victory—Don’t Look Back: 19:10
“And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
Elijah kept reminding God that he was the only one left.
3. Function and Purpose: 19:9
“What are you doing here?”
When we understand our purpose we find our strength in Him who causes all things to work together for good (Romans 8:28).
4. Finding the Reality of God: 19:11
“Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord. And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.”
God is sovereign in the governance of all things.
5. Faith in God: 19:12
The small gentle breeze that Elijah heard was the stillness of silence (Psalm 46.10). Then came the sound of the whisper of silence, the calm and peace of the presence of God.
